Why not Manu for MVP?

The season is barely six weeks old, but already some trends are emerging.

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be hard to dethrone as the NBA’s champions. Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Dallas and Oklahoma City look loaded. The experiment with the “Big Three” in Miami looks destined for failure unless some major tweaking goes on with the personalities of the superstars.

And most impressively of all, the San Antonio Spurs have been the NBA’s best team so far this season. A 12-game winning streak and a record 14-2 start has Spurs Nation salivating about a chance at another championship.

Several players have had a hand in the Spurs’ fast start. Tony Parker has put aside his the uncertainty in his personal life to play some of the best basketball of his career. Richard Jefferson is playing like the kind of player that Gregg Popovich expected him to when he was brought to the franchise.

But the biggest reason for the team’s early success has been the play of guard Manu Ginobili, who is playing the best basketball of his career.

Ginobili is averaging a career-best 21.6 points per game and is also notched career bests in free throw percentage and minutes played per game. But most importantly, he has taken control as the team’s leader.

And for that, as the best player on the best team in the league, he should be considered as a potential MVP candidate if he can remain healthy.

Steve Aschburner of NBA.com identifies the NBA’s potential MVP candidates each week. In his most recent column, he mentions that the Spurs might not have a legitimate MVP candidate because of the composition of their roster.

Aschburner does have Ginobili ranked eighth in his MVP race, cracking his weekly poll for the first time.

It will be hard for Ginobili to be considered in a heavy thicket of outstanding players like Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose and the rest.

But if voters considered the most valuable player in the league, after 16 games they would be hard-pressed not to seriously consider Ginobili as among the top potential candidates.